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and an awful shock for the poor lorry driver:
Tragedy as man with brain tumour kills himself
A man who was suffering from a rare tumour killed himself by running into the path of a lorry, an inquest heard.
Andrew Goodall, 55, from Norwich, had an inoperable tumour which was causing him great pain.
He pre-booked a taxi on May 18 which collected him from his home and dropped him off at a lay-by on the Dereham-bound A47 dual carriageway in Bixley, the inquest heard.
A few minutes later, at about 8.10am, he ran into the path of a lorry after shielding himself from view behind a burger van in the layby, which was about 1,500m from the A146 junction.
Greater Norfolk Coroner William Armstrong yesterday recorded a verdict of suicide whilst suffering from depression as a consequence of a medical condition.
Pc Simon Hall, who investigated the crash, told the inquest it might have been planned as a deliberate act, and that the lorry driver, Matthew Carter, could not have avoided the crash.
Mr Goodall's wife, Vickie Payne said her husband, who was a computer analyst in Prince of Wales Road, Norwich, had been diagnosed with a tumour in February 2002, and that chemotherapy and radiotherapy had failed.
The couple had moved to England from Australia so he could get further treatment for his condition, but the tumour grew, she said.
Mr Goodall was also suffering from depression and was taking anti-depressants, and had attempted to kill himself six or seven times since 2002.
However, Mrs Payne said the weekend before his death they had enjoyed time together, and that on the morning of May 18, he told her he would see her later when he left. A four-page suicide note was later found in the house.
Mr Armstrong read a statement given by Norwich taxi driver Glen Franklin, who picked Mr Goodall up.
Mr Franklin said: “The man appeared calm and friendly and nothing seemed out of order.”
The inquest also heard from Steven Williamson, who runs a burger van on the A47.
Mr Williamson said he had seen Mr Goodall as he was setting up, and that Mr Goodall told him he was “fine and just waiting for somebody to pick him up”.
Mr Williamson said: “He then smiled at me and I smiled back, then he ran into the road.”
Mr Carter, who was driving an 18-ton Renault lorry for Yarmouth-based NR Asphalt, said: “As I neared the layby I saw this figure. I thought what the hell is he doing, and then he ran into the road.
“I heard a horrendous loud bang. I seemed to make eye to eye contact with the figure and my whole world seemed to suddenly stop. I was completely stunned by what happened.”
A post mortem examination gave the cause of death as multiple injuries.
Afterwards, the family issued a statement, which said: “This has been a very tragic incident affecting several people. All our lives have changed but we need to grieve as a family in private.”
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Tragic, like the homeless man this week, who went tosleep in a wheelie bin and was crushed to death in the lorry. I think it was Nottingham.
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Read this in the paper today, that poor poor lorry driver, he has to live with that for the rest of his life but can also feel for the man who ran in front of the lorry makes me feel quite sad.
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Poor poor men....
The suicide and the poor driver.
I hope he recovers from the shock ... it will be a hard thing to forget.
Deanna X
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